Vice President JD Vance visited Wisconsin on Wednesday to highlight efforts to combat fraud and waste in public assistance programs, positioning the issue as a key partisan divide ahead of the midterm elections. Speaking at a National Guard base in Milwaukee, Vance emphasized Republican efforts to investigate and address fraud, contrasting this with what he described as Democratic inaction.

Vance cited cases of fraud uncovered over recent years, including a high-profile conviction in Wisconsin. He displayed a poster of Marita Barnes, who was convicted in March on multiple counts of health care fraud for stealing $2.3 million from a Medicaid program serving at-risk pregnant women and mothers with young children. Barnes was initially indicted in 2023 during the Biden administration, but Vance accused Democrats of defending her, alleging they are unwilling to confront fraud.

Joining Vance were several Republican officials, including Representative Tom Tiffany, a gubernatorial candidate who criticized Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers for efforts to protect the privacy of food-stamp recipients by limiting their personal data sharing with the federal government. Representative Derrick Van Orden, who narrowly won re-election last year in a competitive district, also participated in the event, framing the fraud crackdown as a central Republican message.

The anti-fraud campaign traces back to investigations initiated under the Biden administration, particularly after a significant fraud scandal in Minnesota involving the misuse of state aid programs. Though Republicans have frequently alleged widespread abuse of social programs, often without conclusive evidence, they have used these cases to justify efforts to restrict funding and tighten oversight, especially in Democratic-led states.

Vance also criticized recent Biden administration moves to modify the H-1B visa program, which grants temporary work permits to foreign employees in specialized fields. He accused the program of facilitating wage suppression and referenced ongoing investigations by the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General into fraudulent visa applications. The administration has sought to reshape the H-1B system by imposing a $100,000 fee on new visas and prioritizing higher-wage positions. While the program has faced longstanding criticism over potential exploitation, many economists assert that H-1B workers enhance overall productivity and wages in the U.S.

Sarah Pierce, director of social policy at Third Way and a former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services official, acknowledged that fraud should be addressed but cautioned against using investigations as a pretext for broader immigration enforcement, such as increased arrests and deportations. She noted a lack of comprehensive government data quantifying the extent of fraud within the H-1B program.

Before his speech, Vance attended a Republican National Committee fundraiser at the Pfister Hotel and was accompanied by members of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization that set up a voter registration booth at the National Guard base.

In a brief exchange with reporters following his remarks, Vance declined to directly address concerns about ensuring continued support for individuals dependent on prenatal assistance programs, asserting that rooting out fraud was essential to preserving funding.

Vance also dismissed a letter sent by Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, a Democrat, who had invited the vice president to discuss local election operations amid federal investigations related to the 2020 election. Johnson expressed concern that such federal involvement undermined public confidence in democratic institutions. Vance characterized the mayor’s outreach as suspicious and suggested it resembled an admission of guilt, an analogy which drew applause from the audience.